Every year the VTPU runs monthly 1-hour seminars on topics related to transcultural mental health. The seminars are free and open to any health and mental health practitioners and members of allied professions, e.g. education or welfare. Speakers in the seminar programs are practitioners with expertise in a particular field and come from a wide range of backgrounds. The speaker’s presentation is followed by general discussion. The second half of the two-hour program is devoted to a Transcultural Clinical Case Presentation by a St Vincent's Hospital psychiatric registrar as part of his/her training. These presentations are for clinicians only.  The audience is encouraged to ask questions and offer advice or suggestions concerning the management of the case. [view 2008 program]

VTPU Seminar and Case Presentation
Wednesday, 15th Oct 2008

'Building Family Skills Together: Family based intervention in mental health services,
How useful is this model for working with CALD families?'

Presenters:

Brendan O'Hanlon
Co-ordinator Building Family Skills Together Project
The Bouverie Centre – La Trobe University

Dr Peter McKenzie
Carer Academic / Family Practice Consultant
The Bouverie Centre – La Trobe University

With
Amy Nicolaidis
Registered Psychiatric Nurse
North West Area Mental Health Service

Building Family Skills Together is a two-year project that aims to implement sustainable evidence based family intervention in the Continuing Care Teams of the North West Area Mental Health Service. It is a collaborative venture of The Psychosocial Research Centre (PRC), North West Area Mental Health Service (NWAMHS) and The Bouverie Centre. In addition to training staff in the intervention, a unique feature of the implementation is the ‘embedding’ of two Family Practice Consultants from The Bouverie Centre at the Moreland and Broadmeadows Continuing Care Teams. The Family Practice Consultants work alongside staff in seeing families, conduct Mentoring Groups and initiate implementation committees to facilitate the organizational changes necessary to sustain work with families. The experience of the project will be presented from the vantage points of the clinician, family practice consultant and project implementation. This presentation will include the experiences of clinicians/family practice consultants using this model with families from CALD backgrounds.

The seminar will be followed by a transcultural case study presented a Psychiatric Registrar at St Vincent's Hospital. The case presentation is for clinicians, consumer consultants, and carer consultants only.

DVD recordings of the seminar where presenters have given permission to record will be sent to interested rural or distant mental health services and psychiatric disability rehabilitation and support services. To request a DVD please contact the VTPU, ph 9288 3300, email vtpu@svhm.org.au

Venue: VTPU Seminar Room,
Level 2, Bolte Wing, St Vincent's Hospital, 14 Nicholson St Fitzroy.
Date: Wednesday 15th October 2008
Time: Seminar 3.00-4.00 pm
Transcultural Case Presentation for clinicians only 4.15- 5.15 pm.
Cost: the seminar and case presentation are free of charge.
Light refreshments will be provided following the seminar.
We look forward to your participation, questions and comments.

Click here to register

Please RSVP by 1pm, Monday 13th October, 2008, as seating is limited.
For enquiries please contact the VTPU, ph 9288 3300, email vtpu@svhm.org.au

About the presenters

Brendan O'Hanlon

Brendan O’Hanlon is responsible for coordinating the centre’s work in the mental health field, including the promotion of family sensitive practice and family interventions within victoria’s public mental health services. He has extensive experience in training, consultation and service development both locally and interstate. He is currently leading the implementation component of building family skills together, a research and implementation project designed to introduce an evidence based family intervention into routine practice in an adult mental health service. Brendan is a social worker by training and worked in clinical mental health services for a number of years before coming to the Bouverie Centre.

Dr Peter McKenzie

Dr McKenzie is an anthropologist and family therapist. He currently holds the Academic Carer (mental health) position at Bouverie. He is a carer who has significant personal and professional experience in the mental health sector including working with families living with mental illness. He is also currently working as a family practice consultant for the Building Family Skills together project - implementing evidence based family work to the mental health sector. He has a particular interest in BPD and Narrative Thearpy and assisting families using family and group therapeutic support and education.

Amy Nicolaidis

Amy Nicolaidis is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse at North West Area Mental Health Service. She has been working in mental health for the past 10 years. She was previously employed in the bilingual case management program at North West Area Mental Health Service, and has used the BFST approach in her work.

Seminar Program for 2008

This program will be updated as details come to hand

Seminars are from 3.00-4.00 pm.

Transcultural Clinical Case Presentations, for clinicians only, are at 4.15- 5.15 pm.  Check the VTPU home page closer to the date for details of these presentations.

Venue: VTPU Seminar room,
Level 2, Bolte Wing, St Vincent's Hospital, 14 Nicholson St Fitzroy.
Time: Seminar 3.00-4.00 pm
Transcultural Case Presentation for clinicians only 4.15- 5.15 pm.
Cost: Free of charge.
Light refreshments are provided following the seminar.

DVD recordings of seminars are available to interested mental health services and psychiatric disability rehabilitation and support services by arrangement.

For seminar enquiries please contact the VTPU, ph 9288 3300, email vtpu@svhm.org.au

See past programs in this series